BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) — A total of 565,000 applications for invention patents were handled in China in the first half of 2017, statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) showed Thursday.

The number was a 6.1-percent rise on a yearly basis, as 209,000 invention patents were issued, according to the statistics.

As of the end of June, the Chinese mainland held more than 1.22 million invention patents, with 8.9 such patents per every 10,000 people on average.

Also, more than 20,000 applications for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) were submitted by Chinese applicants via the SIPO over the first six months of the year, an increase of 15.3 percent on a yearly basis, said Hu Wenhui, spokesperson of the SIPO.

Moreover, up to 15,411 patent cases were solved in China in the same period, up 23.3 percent year-on-year, according to Hu.

Of the cases 8,837 involved patent disputes, while 8,666 related to patent infringement, he continued.